downtown bel air. the snow is coming down. it looks picturesque. >> we want to head over to mike masco for the latest on the snow and how long it's going to last. what can we expect? >> as quick as it came in, it will be out by 7:00, 8:00. light snow. we'll take you down toward the south and east of town around edgemere. we'll check in with lauren. some bursts of snow coming. we'll take you toward annapolis and seeing some of the heavy snow as you go into the bay bridge, a burst heading into the eastern shore. cecil county had the light snow. there's another burst. that will be on top of you in the next 15 to 20 minutes. this is what our radar is seeing in terms of how much snow has come down. to the north and west a solid inch. northern carroll county, a healthy dusting on the way to an inch. the one to two inch forecast

will certainly come to fruition. in terms of what to expect, it's the cold air. 19 in timonium. down toward the airport at 19. 22 at annapolis. anything that falls will stick quickly. anything that melts will refreeze. flurries through the course of the overnight. 18. it's a warming trend in that seven-day forecast. we'll talk about that coming up. now that we have a better idea of what's happening outside, we have to look ahead. >> we want to head over to lauren cook for the latest on what it's doing to drivers. >> reporter: the roads are really wet. the highways are extremely congested. the secondary roads have enough snow to cause big problems. if you're traveling in baltimore city, you'll want to watch out for an accident on loch raven boulevard. we're dealing with another

accident on harford road and joppa road. expect heavy, heavy delays as we take a live look at dulaney valley road. it will take you an extra 27 minutes to travel the inner loop and the outer loop is extremely congested. here at baltimore national pike, it continues. you want to watch out for a crash at woodland. that's a look at your time save per -- saver traffic. back to you. we're covering all the angles. >> for many parent, the first order of business today was pick up their kids after the school alerted them that they would close early. >> jeff hager has more on that. jeff in. >> reporter: the traffic

tie-ups, that's what school administrators were worried b we saw parents running to pick up students, concerned for their safety. they are never more excited to head home on a friday. that is, until students found that this school day would end early. >> it said that we would be getting out two hours early. wait. it was before lunch. everyone got up and started clearing. >> reporter: for parents, the excitement over early dismiss hall more resembled anxiety. just ask kay davis. >> backed up on york road. jay. >> stressing out. will be the last one here. >> yes. >> reporter: baltimore county has almost 900 school buses. the friday evening commute is difficult and dangerous enough without mixing in a snowstorm.

>> over the course of the last 24 hours they upped the arrival time of their forecast, so we felt this pry dent that we pull all our staff and resources in earlier to get the students home before the brunt of this storm hits. they are calling for one to two potentially three inches of snow into this evening's rush hour. we felt we would err on the side of caution. >> reporter: that as okay for these students who haven't seen a snow cancellation yet this weekend and now see themselves primed for a long weekend. >> no more school! >> reporter: this is just a bonus, the early dismissal because they already have a scheduled day off on monday because report cards are being worked up by teachers and administrators. so for them the bonus just gets bigger. reporting in buccaneer barks jeff hager, abc2 news.

>> thank you. you can track this storm minute by minute from the palm of your hand with our mobile weather app. it's been more than two years that the family of phylicia barnes is finally getting their day in court. >> the trial started at 10 this morning with opening statements from both sides. though laid out a road map. >> reporter: the state is painting the defend michael johnson as a deviant killer. the defense says not only is that just a theory but one the state will not be able to prove. for the father of phylicia barnes, this has been a long time coming. >> will stay focused, pretty much, stay focused. >> reporter: meanwhile, on the other side of the building and on the other side of this case,

defendant michael johnson climbs out of a transport van and into the courthouse. you can see him here in a brief snapshot dressed in a yellow jump suit and chains, but in court johnson appears in a suit and he listened to the state as it opened its case against him. listened to prosecutors inform the jury of a sex video involving phylicia, johnson, her older sister and his younger brother how on that day in june of 2010, the relationship had changed much the state also told the jury they would hear from a convicted criminal and friend of johnson who said he saw the dead body of phylicia barnes in the apartment on the day she went missing and joan son -- johnson was asking him what he should do. that friend james mccrea is nothing but a liar and a jail

house snitch, the defense said saying the state cannot explain gaps and are trying to make this a case of quote, sex, lies and videotape. now the state was able to call three witnesses, phylicia's sister kelly, brother brian and little brother. the defense seems to be focusing on deanna barnes, the older sister who was looking after phylicia. dena should be called as a witness next week. brian kuebler, abc2 news. we have new development unless the misconduct trial of anne arundel county executive john leopold. one charge was dropped and the judge said the second misconduct charge should be thrown out since the state didn't prove theft of campaign signs. leopold is now facing three counts of misconduct and one

count of fraud for misusing county dollars. he tried to nail down the question -- did leopold have bad judgment or did he abuse his powers. >> throughout the week constantly showing his lack of discretion and use of the security staff. >> the disefs called its first witness this afternoon. a doctor who performed back surgery on leopold. cheryl conner will have more coming up on abc2 news at 6:00. now to the latest over the continuing debate over gun control. senator diane feinstein laid out the plan. vice-president joe biden focused more on the background check provision of the president's plan. >> these weapons do not belong on the streets of our towns, our

cities, in our schools. >> reporter: while the debate it far from over, another politician is getting headlines. the former georgia speaker of the louse is accused of trying to bring a gun through an airport check point down in atlanta. yes. we are about three days away from the ravens stepping on to that plane and heading down to new orleans for the big game. >> the team is laser focus hood while players continue to practice, some of the coaches and staff step n. front of the mike to talk about how they're getting red by for the super bowl. they said they're not dining things very differently this time around. >> the way the team has responded to john and his coaching leerld -- leadership, how he asked them to practice, how he wants them to prepare, i think that has been very similar to 2000.

>> he said reed still has a lot of football to play but if he wants to stay with the team in a coaching capacity when he's done, they'll find a place for him. >> we hope to see you in new orleans. we are teaming up with the st. bernard project in new orleans to rebuild two homes for people still being affected by hurricane katrina. >> while we're down there we still want it do some good and hopefully show the community of new orleans what we're about. >> we need your help to make this happen. head to abc2news.com/ravens for nola. you don't need any special skills. it as a tiny thing inside your body but it can cause some really big problems. >> would you know the symptoms of a thyroid disorder if they were happening to you? a brew thal killing --

brutal killing. >> with bad breakups, you know your ex may have nasty words, but posting naked pictures on the web? that's happening and how some women are fighting back. >> take a look at 19 degrees. bone chilling cold one more day. we'll detail that coming up. >> well, the snow is leading to a hectic commute. here's a look. we are dealing with accidents across the region. i'll have all the details coming up in my abc2 time saver report.

an update on the breaking news story we've been following since the top of the hour where a man was shot near the light rail station in cockeysville. police are searching the area for a suspect. the victim was rushed to shock trauma. the station is closed.

the mta has set up a bus route. >> that morning jolt of coffee may lower your risk of cancer s looked at habits in nearly one million men and women. those who drank at least four cups had half the risk of dying from mouth and throat cancer compared to those who drank no cof fee. the authors still don't know why coffee works and they zoo have enough -- don't have enough evidence to show you start drinking more of it. january is thyroid awareness month. experts say anyone can have thyroid problems, but it's much more common in women.

>> they are losing weight but on the long run it has damaging effects. if you're losing weight without, a narks feeling nervous, english shuls, handshakes and can't explain why, again hair loss, excessive sweating. those could be the sign that something is wrong with your thyroid. >> some thyroid disorders can be easy to screen for and treat. a few conditions require surgery. if you see or feel a lum in your throat when you swallow or your doctor feels a growth, get an ultrasound to rule out thyroid cancer. we'll take you to our hd camera. take a look. a good coating coming down as you look toward manchester, carroll county, a good coating to an inch. we'll show you snow vision in

one second. seeing a healthy dusting right now. we're thinking just about an inch. healthy dusting with that snow still coming down at the present moment. look how chilly it is. 19. wind chill feels like it's 19. the wind is calm. that will pick up more of a breeze this evening. this is maryland's most powerful radar. you notice a ban set up. go down around annapolis and see a good stumping. then dealing with moderate snow. these snowfall rates are not very impressive but it's enough to reduce visibility on most of the area roadways. look out toward the eastern shore toward centerville. you're dealing with a good thumping of snow. it's doing a good job assessing how much snow has fallen based on our radar returns. across town a dusting. to the north and west out around

thermont, closing in, walkersville, you're about at an inch. the thinking is one to two inches. winter weather advisory advising you the roads will become slick. keep that in mind. one to two inches, localized spots. out to the west, that's where you're going to see the most, around allegany. 18 degrees across the area. 19 at the airport. bel air 18 degrees. not much in the way of winds, but those wind chills making it feel like it's in the teens. we'll start to see that moderate snow taper off after 7:00. it's flurries when we're back on at 11 and then a chilly wakeup. we'll be into the 20s tomorrow. so here's the quick moving clipper system moving through right now. notice the back edge over west virginia. this will be out of here over the next couple of hours.

look at the temperatures. while it's still pretty chilly over many locations from buffalo out toward, well baltimore and back toward new york city, notice warm air starting to punch. 50 in dallas. that is a mild stretch that we'll get into. we'll show you that in the seven-day forecast. so a decent amount of clouds. notice the back edge. tomorrow i do think we'll start of sunshine withote. temperatures getting close to the freezing mark. we think it's going to be around 32 degrees and a niece warming trend. the call will be snow showers through the course. we'll get down to 17, cooler to the outlying areas. 32 tomorrow, a mixture of sunshine and clouds. 18 for tomorrow night, clear and cold. here's your seven-day forecast. how about 35. that's in the bad.

we'll get into the 40s. it's hard to type 20s and 55 on tuesday. that's kind of like beach weather in comparison to where we have been. >> 55 sounds great. >> the tradeoff will be showers. monday, tuesday. >> gray, rainy. >> again, we'll get milder air. it's better than 18 with a wind chill of seven. while we are waiting for the weather to warm up, how about some indoor fun for the entire family. >> the, pow is taking place in timonium. abc2's charley crowson has more. >> reporter: oscar ran under the bend and would not come out. we are at the state fairground.

it's the 12th annual world the expo. this is the typical thing you see. it's a great event. they jump in the water. it's going on through saturday and sunday, a great team to bring the entire family out. the expo is coming up this weekend. step in here. what a great event, 12 years running. >> 12 years, yes. >> reporter: what can people expect? this is an event for the entire family? >> you can bring your pet with you. we have something for every pet lover. we have hundreds of booths to shop. we have rescues and shelter. we have great food, wonder testimony entertainment. we have educational seminars, educational displays. we have a jer ball show, a dog ability trial. we have a guinea pig-a-thon. >> so this is saturday 10 to 7.

sunday 10 to 6. i saw the yorkie rescue when we came in this afternoon. what are some of the other breeds of dogs? >> oh, shepherd, many, many kinds, all kinds of breed rescues as well as rescues that offer all kinds, cats and dogs, small animal rescues. >> all right. thank you. we'll be here until seven and it kicks off tomorrow from 10 to seven. >> eight this evening. seven tomorrow night. >> and six on sunday. we'll be here throughout the flight. we'll go back to you in the studio. there's not going to be any for the weekend. what better place to come than out lear for the world of pet expo. we are live throughout the night, charley crowson, abc2 news. >> charley, i want you to adopt that dog. it has way more skills than my

dog. a big show behind you. thank you very much for that live report. call her a medical miracle. >> a 19-month-old girl lived after a pencil went through her brain. >> reporting is a tough job. you expect hazard pay in some scenarios. when you get the county fair assignment, you assume you're safe until goats attack. >> we got the snow across the area. take a look at annapolis, dealing with the snow. speak of annapolis, seeing moderate snow. we'll have the most accurate forecast coming up after this.

what a story. check this out. this x-ray is from a 19-month-old girl in new hampshire who -- wait for it --

fell on a pencil. you can see it went through her eye into her brain. she was air lifted to a boston hospital and had surgery. doctors said she survived because the pencil didn't eat anything vital in her head. >> would you not eat my pants? >> one second she's calling him friendly. the next, this reporter is getting a head butt from a feisty goat. when you get the county fair assignment, you assume you're safe. the goat lunged at her and knocked her to the ground. the reporter wasn't hurt. >> she learned that lesson. okay. an exterminator showed up at a doctor's office to get rid of a row dent problem. >> he killed much more on what this man is saying. he is accused of killing a woman

and setting her on fire. scorned lovers are getting back by posting naked pictures of their ex's online. i'm meteorologist mike masco. we'll show you maryland's most powerful radar coming up. >> they're back here in towson. here's a look at the delays. we are dealing with accidents across the region. i'll have all the details coming up in my abc2 time save -- saver traffic report.